PAC-12 Postpones All Athletics Through 2020

Citing concerns with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the PAC-12 has opted to halt all sport competitions through the end of 2020, following days of rumors and unanswered questions. The decision was made by conference officials after consulting with athletic directors as well as the PAC-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee, and came just hours after the Big 10 announced the postponement of their college football season earlier in the day.

Student-athletes under scholarship will have their endowment guaranteed, and the conference is taking the extra step of encouraging the NCAA to grant an extra year of eligibility.

Nationally, it is unknown if the SEC, ACC and Big 12 will also follow suit, or if individual institutions will chose to proceed with a football season, however University of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan confirmed the Utes will indeed be sidelined until January 1st, 2021 at the earliest, stating “For months, we have been working diligently in consultation with top medical experts to create a safe path for competition in these sports to take lace, and using all of the information and time available to us. However, with the challenges and complexities presented by COVID-19, the medical advice does not support conducting fall sports seasons.”

Impacted sports include both men’s and women’s basketball, football, women’s soccer and volleyball. If events are allowed to resume by the start of 2021 as projected, skiing and gymnastics would be among the first competitions to resume during their regular seasons.